Watch Matt’s Off Road Recovery’s Infamous Morrvair Rescue a Broken Side-by-Side on Christmas Day
The Morrvair is back for our viewing pleasure! Matt’s Off Road Recovery, led by Matt Wetzel and joined by his son, Colin, was called out to the southwest wilderness on December 25th. A side-by-side was stuck near the tri-state border between Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. Due to its craggy, rugged territory, the terrain is popular for outfitted builds and UTVs . What’s actually more satisfying than seeing the Morrwair hit the trail are the tow skills on full display.
With everyone expecting a nice reprieve from the grind, an unexpected disaster for one side-by-side interrupted the holiday. Well, I should say “unexpected” for the side-by-side drivers. Matt comments early in the vid that they most often enter the region to recover side-by-sides with their wheels ripped off. In this case, a buggy going down a relatively easy-looking dirt trail suffered a sudden break at the left front wheel. Ball joint or otherwise, the UTV was inoperable.
Most satisfying tow maneuvers
Once they find the side-by-side, Matt decides whether to take the left wheel off. After hooking the tow strap to the front end, the judgment call is made, and Matt starts working the lug nuts off. Turns out the lugs were torqued to various specs, with one nut only finger-tight. Indeed, the buggy looks spanking-new and clean as a whistle. We hope not, but it’s possible the wheels had been taken off and back on recently, which could have contributed to the accident.
After the left front wheel was off, the buggy was winched to the trailer ramp. Here’s where the graceful loading maneuvers come in. To get the wheelless axle safely up the ramp, Matt pushes the buggy’s left side while it’s winched up to clear the hub from dragging. Then, they noticed that the right rear wheel was slightly hanging off the trailer’s edge. Matt loops a tow strap around the outside of the rear wheel and hits play. This shifts the side-by-side to the left and carefully pops the UTV into correct alignment on the trailer.
In a final act of confidence, Matt and Colin look for the easiest way out of the zone. The customers doubt that the loaded Morrvair’s trailer can clear a small tunnel leading to the highway. With a quick glimpse, the duo is sure they can make it, and they do. This saves them an hour of driving.
The Morrvair is the beloved Corvair rescue truck build of Matt’s Off Road Recovery. You can watch the build come to life on YouTube. If you have other obligations today, though, save the rabbit hole for the weekend – it’s hard not to get sucked in.
